Monday, November 29, 2010

Books I completed in the last week are:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)

Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber (audio)

Up Next:
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects
The Absent Author by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Canary Caper by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House #2) by Mary Pope Osborne
Indiana Caper by Dallas Relaford
Moon River and Me by Andy Williams (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio) by J.K. Rowling
Disney At Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
*Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
*Corduroy by Dan Freeman
A Fatal Slip (Crime & Clay #3) by Melissa Glazer
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1001 Children’s Books)
Hero At Large by Janet Evanovich
Home: Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews (Audio)
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd(Audio)
The Year Mom Won the Pennant by Matt Christopher (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (audio)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Giveaways on the blog this week:
Thanksgiving by Janet Evanovich (ends 12/3)

When Megan Murphy discovers a floppy-eared rabbit gnawing on the hem of her skirt, she means to give its careless owner a piece of her mind, but Dr. Patrick Hunter is too attractive to stay mad at for long.

As for Patrick, he wants nothing more than to play house with Maggie—and make Thanksgiving dinner for their families.

But Megan has wept over one failed love, and she's afraid to risk her heart again. Can the good doctor help heal her heart?

Monday, November 22, 2010

Books I completed in the last week are:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Big Girl by Danielle Steel (Audio)

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)
Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
Mrs. Miracle by Debbie Macomber (audio)

Up Next:
Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham

Books still needing to have reviews written (as opposed to the ones that are simply awaiting posting):
The Perfect Christmas by Debbie Macomber
Stick It! 99 DIY Duct Tape Projects
The Absent Author by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Bald Bandit by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Canary Caper by Ron Roy (Audio)
The Knight at Dawn (Magic Tree House #2) by Mary Pope Osborne
Indiana Caper by Dallas Relaford
Moon River and Me by Andy Williams (audio)
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets (Audio) by J.K. Rowling
Disney At Dawn (Kingdom Keepers #2) by Ridley Pearson
Disney After Dark (Kingdom Keepers #1) by Ridley Pearson (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
*Are You My Mother? By P. D. Eastman
*Corduroy by Dan Freeman
A Fatal Slip (Crime & Clay #3) by Melissa Glazer
Back on Blossom Street by Debbie Macomber (Audio)
Bed of Roses by Nora Roberts
*Goodnight Moon by Margaret Wise Brown (1001 Children’s Books)
Hero At Large by Janet Evanovich
Home: Memoir of my Early Years by Julie Andrews (Audio)
Let Them Eat Cake by Sandra Byrd(Audio)
The Year Mom Won the Pennant by Matt Christopher (my nephew likes me to read his books sometimes and then we discuss)
Miss Brooks Loves Books (and I don’t) by Barbara Bottner
Playing for Pizza by John Grisham (audio)
Savor the Moment by Nora Roberts

Back Cover: Victoria Dawson has always felt out of place in her family, especially in body-conscious L.A. Her father, Jim, is tall and slender, and her Mother, Christina, is a fine-boned, dark-haired beauty. Both are self-centered, outspoken, and disappointed by their daughter’s looks. While her parens and sister can eat anything and not gain an ounce, Victoria must watch everything she eats, as well as endure her father’s belittling comments about her body and see her academic achievements go unacknowledged. Ice cream and oversized helpings of all the wrong foods give her comfort, but only briefly. The one thing she knows is that she has to get away from home, and after college in Chicago, she moves to New York City.

Behind Victoria is a lifetime of hurt and neglect she has tried to forget, and even ice cream can no longer dull the pain. Ahead is a challenge and risk: to accept herself as she is, celebrate it, and claim the victories she has faught so hard for and deserves. Big girl or not, she is terrific and discovers that herself.

Mine: What a wonderfully timely book as we talk about bullying and obesity. Victoria suffers both, but worst of all the bullying comes from her own family. She’s just the “tester cake” that comes before her perfect sister. There are time while listening to the book – it was frustrating to think that her family is the cause of a lot of her heartache.

The wonderful thing about this story is we travel with Victoria through her journey of self-discovery and healing. She does finally discover she is worth of someone’s love as the person that she is, not what her family thinks of her.

Back Cover: Eddie Robinson told everyone that “America is the greatest country in the world” and overcame racial discrimination with quiet, humble achievement. “to me, he was the Martin Luther King of football, “ said retired Jackson State coach W. C. Gorden, a long-time friend and adversary who joined Robinson in the College Football Hall of Fame in 2008. Thousands who paid tribute upon Robinson’s death in 2007 share Gorden’s view. Covering six decades, Robinson’s coaching career paralleled the Jim Crow era of segregation in the Deep South and every major event of the Civil Rights Movement. His historic tenure spanned 11 U.S. Presidencies and four wars involving American Troops – 57 years all at the same university: Grambling. His football teams won 408 games and nine black national championships, and played in 28 states and Tokyo, Japan. Robinson opened the National Football League to players from historically black colleges, and sent more than 200 players into pro football, including four members of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. This remarkable leader also sent thousands of athletes and students into society as educated, responsible, productive citizens. This story of his life is based on dozens of interviews and extensive research into six decades of football history and half-century of civil rights progress.

Mine: What a wonderful man Eddie Robinson, must have been. He sounds like a very strong man – he must have had to have been to live through the times he did, being a black man in the South. He also had to believe in the kindness of his fellow man. I had no idea that he also coach Basketball in the early years along with football.

He was a maker of men. He took young boys who played football and made them into respectful men. With all the wonderful championships that he won – this seems to be his greatest achievement. Grambling made a name for itself for the way they played football.

I'll start with this level: First Date – Read 1–4 Nicholas Sparks novels and hopefully read more since he is one of my favorite authors.

I'll copy the whole list from Book Vixen, but I'm not sure which ones I'll read.

List of Nicholas Sparks novels:

The Notebook Message in a Bottle A Walk to Remember The Rescue A Bend in the Road Nights in Rodanthe The Wedding The Guardian Three Weeks With My Brother True Believer (read this first, before At First Sight) At First Sight (read this after True Believer) The Choice Dear John The Lucky One The Last Song Safe Haven

1)If people could take away one thing from your book, what would you want it to be?Never give up on your goals in life but allow God to revise or tweak them into being aligned with his Will. Every failure is not a nightmare and every opportunity is not a blessing. Some failures can be blessings; some opportunities can be nightmares.

Allow God completely into your heart and watch your life begin to expand in the most amazing ways. I trust God in completely different way than before because I now have a testimony that I never had before. There is nothing like spectacular fall to truly give you a new relationship with God.

2) I love how you have included your life stories onto the pages and you are so relatable; what has been one of your biggest challenges in life and how did you overcome it?My biggest challenge was bouncing back from my failed mayoral bid that was a disappointment on a professional and emotional level. It was completely humiliating because I was marginalized and misunderstood throughout the campaign. I felt like people didn’t get me; they just stereotyped me.

There were many people that I had supported in the past that didn’t return the favor added to the humiliation. I was very disappointed in people that I had respected and loved in every facet of my life. It definitely changed the way I see the world.

I was able to overcome it all through forgiveness. God forgives us for all our transgressions and I was forced to do the same. All the inspirational stories I wrote are from perspective of a reader; I wrote what I needed to hear at those desperate, heart wrenching times in my life. I wrote to encourage myself and now decided to share it with others.

3) What have you learned about yourself throughout the process of writing your book?I learned not to take things so personally. Most decisions are based on individual personal ambition. Ambition is never right or wrong; it is the inner drive to have something more in your life. But sometimes your ambition can clash with others. You must not take it personally.

I also learned that having just me is enough because of God’s love. I now feel comfortable in my own skin; imperfections in all. I may not be perfect but I am attempting to be a best that I can. And that is enough as long as I try to stay aligned with God.

Monday, November 15, 2010

Books I completed in the last week are:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
Big Girl by Danielle Steel (Audio)

Up Next:Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (audio)

Books I completed in the last week are:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)

Bookmarks are still living in the middle of:*Reading a lot of children’s book – I’m going to make a challenge of the titles found in 1001 Children’s Books to Read before I Grow Up (just need help with a button)Cooking Up Murder by Miranda Bliss
Big Girl by Danielle Steel (Audio)

Up Next:Her Royal Spyness by Rhys Bowen
The Wedding Girl by Madeleine Wickham
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling (audio)

If the preacher's wife's petticoat showed, the ladies would make the talk last a week. But on July 5, 1906, things took a scandalous turn. That was the day E. Rucker Blakeslee, proprietor of the general store and barely three weeks a widower, eloped with Miss Love Simpson -- a woman half his age and, worse yet, a Yankee! On that day, fourteen-year-old Will Tweedy's adventures began and an unimpeachably pious, deliciously irreverent town came to life. Not since To Kill A Mockingbird has a novel so deftly captured the subtle crosscurrents of small-town Southern life. Olive Ann Burns classic bestseller brings to vivid life an era that will never exist again, exploring timeless issues of love, death, coming of age, and the ties that bind families and generations

WINNER1.Lynda Samayoa

Mysterious and sexy, Maximillian Holt moves into Jamie Swift's life like a steamroller. She's the owner of a small town newspaper and he's a notorious, brilliant billionaire--what could they possibly have in common? Apparently quite a lot, for besides their mutual affection for Max's airhead sister Deedee and his investment in Jamie's struggling business, they share an explosive sexual chemistry. Unfortunately, Jamie's already engaged to be married. But when someone sprays her office with gunfire, only Max can save her. Now she'll have to rely on him to sort out the tangle of embezzlement, mayhem, and attempted murder that threatens her bucolic world of Beaumont, South Carolina. But if they unravel the mysteries and manage to stay alive, is there any hope for a shared future between a cosmopolitan guy committed to tracking down evil and a small-town girl who just wants a normal life?